Dr Helena KimResearch Fellow, Physiology Anatomy & Microbiology

Dr Helena KimResearch Fellow, Physiology Anatomy & Microbiology

Dr Kim obtained her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health at University of Melbourne in 2011, focusing on the role of striatal dopamine D1 receptors in Huntington's disease. After her Ph.D. she has expanded her research interests into studies of cerebrovascular disease and its effect on cognitive impairment and dementia.

In the past 6 years, her post-doctoral research in the Department of Pharmacology at Monash University under the supervision of Professor Christopher Sobey has resulted in several important papers, indicating that she is an emerging leader in the field of stroke and CNS diseases.

In 2017, she has joined the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology at La Trobe University where she is currently exploring inflammatory mechanisms that might contribute to brain injury and neurological outcome following ischemic stroke.

She has expertise in small animal surgery - especially in multiple mouse models of stroke and has now published 22 peer-reviewed papers in internationally recognised journals, including Nature Communications and Stroke. This work has built on and complements her expertise in animal behavioural studies, in particular, cognitive testing in mice that she gained during her Ph.D. This unusual but important combination of skills is enabling her to test the therapeutic potential of modulating the immune system on functional and cognitive recovery after stroke. She has been actively involved in student supervision, training of postdoctoral fellows and students, and is an ad hoc reviewer for several professional journals in her field.